Death Metal's Journey (a DIY'ers Worklog for TL Perfection!)
@ JD TLS
12-26-2009, 12:40 PM
#47
Fearless DIY Guy
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Alright, here's an update. I am done with the first portion of the suede wrap, and I kind of fucked up by not taking the time to align the piece properly, so as a result I had to kind of do a "makeshift" fold to cover the last corner...it actually does not look too bad, so I am not losing any sleep over it. I thought I needed 2 yards, I am going to need a third to finish the visors which actually do not seem hard at all...it's the sliding sunroof cover that's going to be a beast as I have NO clue how to remove it.
I am putting off headlight/grille/fog/taillight mods until the spring as I simply cannot get the work done without the proper ambient temperature...sooooo...looks like the next few weeks Ill be finish up the interior. No biggie, just a minor bump in the road.
Check it, more to come, I am going to be working on the trunk mods next (HID reverse, backup cam, Dom's PnP, subs, LOC, CCFL lisc.)
I am putting off headlight/grille/fog/taillight mods until the spring as I simply cannot get the work done without the proper ambient temperature...sooooo...looks like the next few weeks Ill be finish up the interior. No biggie, just a minor bump in the road.
Check it, more to come, I am going to be working on the trunk mods next (HID reverse, backup cam, Dom's PnP, subs, LOC, CCFL lisc.)
12-26-2009, 06:35 PM
#50
Chapter Leader (Southern Region)
You guys should have seen the Max DM owned. Lets just say the TL is in good hands.
01-25-2010, 06:53 AM
#53
Fearless DIY Guy
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Ohhhhh, a journey indeed.
I will update this weekend, suffice to say a good number of these items did not get done, leaving me with a buttload of parts that will be installed over the next few months (hopefully sooner then later)
It was bitter cold (around 20 - 30F) when I was doing this work, and it absolutely sabotaged all efforts in ways I could not have anticipated.
I'll make one thing clear - everything WILL be done by May.
I will update this weekend, suffice to say a good number of these items did not get done, leaving me with a buttload of parts that will be installed over the next few months (hopefully sooner then later)
It was bitter cold (around 20 - 30F) when I was doing this work, and it absolutely sabotaged all efforts in ways I could not have anticipated.
I'll make one thing clear - everything WILL be done by May.
Good job on the Worklog!
great progress. can't wait for finished product.
01-25-2010, 08:35 PM
#57
enigmaos pass the popcorn the movie is getting good lol!!
Death Metal your progress is looking good. That's the one thing thats holding me back right now is "no garage" to work on the car. But hopefully that'll change this year. Tehn I'll get a beater so the tl-s can rest and get worked on "day in day out".
Death Metal your progress is looking good. That's the one thing thats holding me back right now is "no garage" to work on the car. But hopefully that'll change this year. Tehn I'll get a beater so the tl-s can rest and get worked on "day in day out".
01-25-2010, 08:48 PM
#58
Mistuh DRiiVA
enigmaos pass the popcorn the movie is getting good lol!!
Death Metal your progress is looking good. That's the one thing thats holding me back right now is "no garage" to work on the car. But hopefully that'll change this year. Tehn I'll get a beater so the tl-s can rest and get worked on "day in day out".
Death Metal your progress is looking good. That's the one thing thats holding me back right now is "no garage" to work on the car. But hopefully that'll change this year. Tehn I'll get a beater so the tl-s can rest and get worked on "day in day out".
01-26-2010, 07:59 AM
#59
i feel you on the no garage thing, i dont have one either so i face the elements when working and work around the rain and snow. when i first did my headlights, i was home for a couple of days so i said screw it...striped the bumper off and did the lights in 10 degree weather in between two houses with hardly any sunlight. the things you can do when your 19 lol if you asked me to do it now...no way in hell i'd attempt that again.
01-26-2010, 05:41 PM
#60
Mistuh DRiiVA
See that was me when I had my tegs and my brother had his civic ep3. We didn't care what the weather was we just did it. My problem is I live on the second floor and have all my tools in the attic. So carrying everything up and down is whats getting me unmotivated. I live in Westchester and my yard is in Queens so that's kind of a pain too. Paying tolls just to work on the car is ridiculous.
01-27-2010, 05:20 PM
#61
Ummm...deathmetal...much akin to my first experiences with reading Hardy Boys and realizing I actually enjoy the past time, I've been reintroduced into appreciating it thanks to your quips, and very sarcastic and humerous (like the bone) writing style. That coupled with stellar pictures and very ambitious mods make for a thread worth following.
Now please give me update...I crave it like it was mocha madness blue bell ice cream. It makes me laugh and inspires me all at once.
That's all.
Thanks!
J.
Now please give me update...I crave it like it was mocha madness blue bell ice cream. It makes me laugh and inspires me all at once.
That's all.
Thanks!
J.
01-27-2010, 08:15 PM
#64
Wow, thanks...I'm actually flattered! I actually made it a point to use big words in that thread though. I've found that in my day to day with texting and forums I write shorter and shorter things and use more acronyms (iirc, lol, wtf...etc) but I still appreciate writing things that provoke thought and make people laugh.
Anyway...back on topic! Give us PICS!
Anyway...back on topic! Give us PICS!
01-28-2010, 10:18 AM
#65
Safety Car
Wow.... I haven't seen a 3G TL taken apart this much other than that "TL Diet" thread. 
Sorta like the TL Diet, but in reverse... where things get added instead of deleted.
Great work and thanks for sharing the pics.
Sorta like the TL Diet, but in reverse... where things get added instead of deleted.
Great work and thanks for sharing the pics.
01-31-2010, 10:09 PM
#71
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
Howwwwwwdie-ho, Azinerinos! Well, it's time to brush the proverbial dust off this old thread and provide you with some long-overdue updates. It's been quite some time since I've posted here, SO, I will do my best to update things in a chronological fashion.
Ok, so, when we last left off a frozen, beaten Death Metal was finishing his gutted TL back together so he could tend to vocational obligations, leaving him with much to ponder and more to do. What would occur over the next few weeks is a humorous recollection of how shit just well, finds it way on the bed, and massive amounts of time can be lost due to things not working as advertised. Let's start with the suede headliner.
For those wondering, I purchase my Ultra Suede from Denver Febrics around $58/yd. 3 yards will set you straight. 2 for the headliner; 1 for the remainder. Now, in spite of my constant efforts at the gym and my fastidious study of what I could arguably consider the most over-engineered part on the car, the moonroof cover, fellow AZiners attempted to assist me in getting the damn thing back in to no avail (recall my earlier thread). I wasted more time trying to get this thing in then I did a classmates pants in college, but at least I can state that I was successful in the former, a triumph that occurred in a rather unorthodox manner. I can walk anyone through how to PROPERLY reinstall the cover, but you're going to need the headliner off. When you've working on something around 20 hours, you get impatient, and you just snap...restrictions, that is. After a few orgasmic cracks of fiberglass, we were back in business.
Arividerchi, bitch. Let's pause to enjoy some suplremley crappy photography of a beautiful suede headliner. One of these days I'll get some more LED lights for the maplight...I don't really consider this a 'mod', and, as a personal note, and I still remain amazed to this very day how a bulb swap is considered a 'mod'. Maybe I'll note the 'wearable item replacement' or 'Gas station compressed air in my tires' or 'Shell gasoline' mod someday.
Ok, so, when we last left off a frozen, beaten Death Metal was finishing his gutted TL back together so he could tend to vocational obligations, leaving him with much to ponder and more to do. What would occur over the next few weeks is a humorous recollection of how shit just well, finds it way on the bed, and massive amounts of time can be lost due to things not working as advertised. Let's start with the suede headliner.
For those wondering, I purchase my Ultra Suede from Denver Febrics around $58/yd. 3 yards will set you straight. 2 for the headliner; 1 for the remainder. Now, in spite of my constant efforts at the gym and my fastidious study of what I could arguably consider the most over-engineered part on the car, the moonroof cover, fellow AZiners attempted to assist me in getting the damn thing back in to no avail (recall my earlier thread). I wasted more time trying to get this thing in then I did a classmates pants in college, but at least I can state that I was successful in the former, a triumph that occurred in a rather unorthodox manner. I can walk anyone through how to PROPERLY reinstall the cover, but you're going to need the headliner off. When you've working on something around 20 hours, you get impatient, and you just snap...restrictions, that is. After a few orgasmic cracks of fiberglass, we were back in business.
Arividerchi, bitch. Let's pause to enjoy some suplremley crappy photography of a beautiful suede headliner. One of these days I'll get some more LED lights for the maplight...I don't really consider this a 'mod', and, as a personal note, and I still remain amazed to this very day how a bulb swap is considered a 'mod'. Maybe I'll note the 'wearable item replacement' or 'Gas station compressed air in my tires' or 'Shell gasoline' mod someday.
Last edited by DeathMetal; 01-31-2010 at 10:12 PM.
01-31-2010, 10:14 PM
#73
Moderator
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Damn the suede looks awesome! Great job
01-31-2010, 10:34 PM
#75
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
Ok, that nightmare is done and over with, on to the next one, right? Ahhhh, the trunk. I would have never imagined one could mod the living bejeezus out of a trunk, but the TL hath proven otherwise, soaking up a good portion of time. After running power cable to the trunk, providing me with some much need juice for a thirsty array of silicon-based goodies, we're off to add Dom's unit, a Boyo VTK350 backup cam, CCFLs, and backup HIDs.
Sooo, we're humming along, and things are going well. I'm a relay kinda guy, so I setup all of my connections, and hope for the best. I then kick the TL in to reverse and the nav screen goes black. GREAT. Now what? Ahhh, thank goodness I fuse everything. So I recheck the connection, and again, POOF. WHAT THE HELL?! I spend probably close to a week, this can be verified in another thread, and thanks to those that helped, in troubleshooting the damn problem. Seems that the backup cam that was shipped to me did NOT expose both the pos and neg cables, leaving me to believe it ground to the chassis and needed powah and powah alone. So in my stripping haste, I tapped both leads as one and effectively fried the camera. Claiming stupidity, the fine folks at visiontek accepted this as a DOA unit and are fixing it as we speak...but most 4 year olds have more patience then me, so I bought one from a member during the interim, PROPERLY CONNECTED THE SOB, and fired her up. Good to go. Well, almost. I wish it came with a centerline reference, as it was upside down at first, which would be fun as hell if I knew anyone with vertigo. So here's some shots of the final work! Why anyone would choose a Wendy's came over the VTK is beyond me. This little thing is AWESOME and at less then half the price, you gotta do it! Oh, I know, the collar was tightened...
Sooo, we're humming along, and things are going well. I'm a relay kinda guy, so I setup all of my connections, and hope for the best. I then kick the TL in to reverse and the nav screen goes black. GREAT. Now what? Ahhh, thank goodness I fuse everything. So I recheck the connection, and again, POOF. WHAT THE HELL?! I spend probably close to a week, this can be verified in another thread, and thanks to those that helped, in troubleshooting the damn problem. Seems that the backup cam that was shipped to me did NOT expose both the pos and neg cables, leaving me to believe it ground to the chassis and needed powah and powah alone. So in my stripping haste, I tapped both leads as one and effectively fried the camera. Claiming stupidity, the fine folks at visiontek accepted this as a DOA unit and are fixing it as we speak...but most 4 year olds have more patience then me, so I bought one from a member during the interim, PROPERLY CONNECTED THE SOB, and fired her up. Good to go. Well, almost. I wish it came with a centerline reference, as it was upside down at first, which would be fun as hell if I knew anyone with vertigo. So here's some shots of the final work! Why anyone would choose a Wendy's came over the VTK is beyond me. This little thing is AWESOME and at less then half the price, you gotta do it! Oh, I know, the collar was tightened...
01-31-2010, 10:46 PM
#76
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
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Though I'm being encourage by the missus to turn in, and while I have another hour worth of posting to do, I'll close with one more trial before getting those beta waves.
You know what I am psyched for? BASS. Not cheap, shitty bass, but the kind of tight, responsive bass that allows me to feel my death metal and techno (nsst-nsst) booming throughout my car. To accomplish this, we've powering two Alumapro Alchemy RX DVC SQ subs at two ohms that will each see a clean 550W per channel provided by an Arc Audio 2500-XXK. I'm somewhat satisfied with the rest of the system, I have a temporary way of improving it that will be detailed in the next update, and my desire for powdercoated wheels supercedes the audiophile wantons on myself at present, so this'll do for now. Let's look at these cold steel beauties...
Yessir, we're doing this right! We're supplying this using a 4AWG run through the OE grommet in the firewall, and we're doing this STEALTH as I don't want any Acura techs prying around when I take her in to get the stupid HFL fixed.
Can't see it, huh? Let's keep it that way. The OE cover fits perfectly on top, which will be great when I do the engine bay dress-up this summer/fall.
Ok, so you know the drill, connect everything up, and...AND...what, did you think it was going to work? HAHAHA, welcome to my thread, wherein Murphy is never far behind. We got nothin'. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Fack. So after troubleshooting the obvious, I opened the amp to find...AH, you again. Dead fuses. Awesome, you can't make this stuff up. I wonder what it's going to cost a $1,000 amp to fix. Well, Arc rules, and they stand by their product. $150 gets her fixed...NO MATTER WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. Good thing, as I expect my convo with the tech to go something like, "This is crazy, we've never seen this before!" lol. Well, she was shipped out Thursday, so we're two weeks from bass. Oh, well, could have been worse.
You know what I am psyched for? BASS. Not cheap, shitty bass, but the kind of tight, responsive bass that allows me to feel my death metal and techno (nsst-nsst) booming throughout my car. To accomplish this, we've powering two Alumapro Alchemy RX DVC SQ subs at two ohms that will each see a clean 550W per channel provided by an Arc Audio 2500-XXK. I'm somewhat satisfied with the rest of the system, I have a temporary way of improving it that will be detailed in the next update, and my desire for powdercoated wheels supercedes the audiophile wantons on myself at present, so this'll do for now. Let's look at these cold steel beauties...
Yessir, we're doing this right! We're supplying this using a 4AWG run through the OE grommet in the firewall, and we're doing this STEALTH as I don't want any Acura techs prying around when I take her in to get the stupid HFL fixed.
Can't see it, huh? Let's keep it that way. The OE cover fits perfectly on top, which will be great when I do the engine bay dress-up this summer/fall.
Ok, so you know the drill, connect everything up, and...AND...what, did you think it was going to work? HAHAHA, welcome to my thread, wherein Murphy is never far behind. We got nothin'. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Fack. So after troubleshooting the obvious, I opened the amp to find...AH, you again. Dead fuses. Awesome, you can't make this stuff up. I wonder what it's going to cost a $1,000 amp to fix. Well, Arc rules, and they stand by their product. $150 gets her fixed...NO MATTER WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. Good thing, as I expect my convo with the tech to go something like, "This is crazy, we've never seen this before!" lol. Well, she was shipped out Thursday, so we're two weeks from bass. Oh, well, could have been worse.
01-31-2010, 10:50 PM
#77
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
That's if for tonight, folks. I will provide the newest updates, door deadening, LED repair (yep, that's right, more shit going wrong), new accent LEDs, a break-in, and more craaaazy adventures when I post tomorrow.
02-01-2010, 07:42 AM
#78
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
Thanks, Dave. You know as well as anyone here that shit happens, but we always come though.
Thanks, guys. I really wish I took the time to do a proper DIY on this, but I just did not have the time to take all the pics. I will, however, have a DIY on the sunvisors...maybe I will post that up tonight.
Thanks, guys. I really wish I took the time to do a proper DIY on this, but I just did not have the time to take all the pics. I will, however, have a DIY on the sunvisors...maybe I will post that up tonight.
02-01-2010, 10:25 AM
#79
Dude...this is what I've been craving. Thanks for the update...everything looks amazing as usual.
And as far as stuff going wrong...it's funny but sometimes I think "why didn't I just leave it stock" but then I think it might be part of the fun, troubleshooting and fixing/improving stuff.
PS...I ran my remote turn on for my amp from the factory amp remote turn on and the voltage was only enough for it to light up, but not actually turn on. Just FYI.
Since you're an electrical guru, I wonder...my factory amp (which I removed because of this) has taken on horrible engine whine. I troubleshot and troubleshot and it's the amp. Do you know...If I open it up of something that could be soldered onto the board...that would eliminate the alternator whine in it? I tried powering the thing from my gf's car and I STILL had the whine so I am positive it's the amp itself. Something that came with it to suppress engine noise has gone bad. Do you know of something I could put in there and what to solder it to? Resistor or something?
Thanks DM...
J.
And as far as stuff going wrong...it's funny but sometimes I think "why didn't I just leave it stock" but then I think it might be part of the fun, troubleshooting and fixing/improving stuff.
PS...I ran my remote turn on for my amp from the factory amp remote turn on and the voltage was only enough for it to light up, but not actually turn on. Just FYI.
Since you're an electrical guru, I wonder...my factory amp (which I removed because of this) has taken on horrible engine whine. I troubleshot and troubleshot and it's the amp. Do you know...If I open it up of something that could be soldered onto the board...that would eliminate the alternator whine in it? I tried powering the thing from my gf's car and I STILL had the whine so I am positive it's the amp itself. Something that came with it to suppress engine noise has gone bad. Do you know of something I could put in there and what to solder it to? Resistor or something?
Thanks DM...
J.
02-01-2010, 11:40 AM
#80
Fearless DIY Guy
Thread Starter
iTrader: (2)
PS...I ran my remote turn on for my amp from the factory amp remote turn on and the voltage was only enough for it to light up, but not actually turn on. Just FYI.
Do you know of something I could put in there and what to solder it to? Resistor or something?
There are a multitude of ways to kill amp whine, but the biggest offender is almost always the ground.